Contradiction
by TheDarkPrincess
Summary: Buffy finds out Dawn is the key. Willow finds a spell that can destroy the key without destroying Dawn, but it might just bring two enimies together. Then, when a truth spell goes wrong, no one in Sunnydale can lie!! Read & review please.
1. The Crisis And The Spell

Summary: When Buffy finds out Dawn is the key, the Scoobies find a spell that can transfer the energy into another thing, and then they can destroy the key, but as you know in Buffy-land, nothing ever goes as planned. B/S  
  
Disclaimer: The stars whisper to me, children. They say to write a story, and the PTB tells me to give the children of the world a message, 'The Powers That Be own everything, and that I will be punished if I say that any of this belongs to the stars or the moon.'  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 1- THE SPELL  
  
This was by far the Scoobies' most important mission ever and closest to home. Dawn was the "Key"- a mystical energy that opened the portal between dimensions. If those portals were ever opened, the world as they knew it would be destroyed. Buffy was torn, everyone saw it. Dawn was the only real family she had left, but if the "Key" wasn't destroyed the world could end.  
  
The whole gang had been looking for anything, in all the books they had, to save Dawn and not destroy the world. Even Spike had taken to research. Willow scanned every page for something that could help, maybe a spell for transferring energies. Xander tried to help, too, though he wasn't as quick as Willow or Giles. They had been searching for hours now, not even stopping to eat.  
  
"I think I may have something!" Willow said. The Scoobies rushed to her side to see if what she had found was of importance.  
  
"It sounds like it is what we have been searching for." Willow continued, as Giles looked over the spell. He took off his glassed and began rubbing them.  
  
"It does seem like it is the spell we have been looking for." Giles said, and all eyes turned to Buffy. "What does it say?" Buffy asked. Willow showed her the page.  
  
"It is basically saying two strong people will join during the spell and the energy will go out of the being, and into some small breakable object." Willow said matter-of-factly.  
  
"While Buffy is an obvious candidate for one of the powerful being spots, who would be another?" Giles said looking around the library. His eyes stopped when they reached Spike; this did not go unnoticed by the vampire. "Buffy, would you, perhaps consider Spike for the other being?" Giles asked her.  
  
"Would you, Spike?" She asked him, and gave him a pleading look.  
  
"Of course! Nibblet's like my little sis, but if any of you tell the Big Bad was helping out the slayer, I will tie you down and feed you to a Krovkold demon." He said, as they all knew he wouldn't, but still, the thought of being tied down and eaten wasn't all that appealing. "What do I need to do?" He asked Buffy.  
  
They then began the preparations for the spell. Dawn had to stand in the middle of the circle, along with Buffy and Spike, and hold the object the Key's energy was to be transferred into. Buffy and Spike sat near Dawn, but not directly in the middle. Dawn had her back to them. As soon as they had the proper herbs they began the spell. Willow began to chant in Latin, and Dawn had sort of a glow that came about her. Forgotten by them, part of the spell was for the protectors of the energy to join. Halfway through the incantation, the group was surprised to see Buffy and Spike rise from their seated positions and lock hands.  
  
Buffy didn't know what was coming over herself. She felt as if she had lost complete control. She felt herself grab his hands, but it wasn't her that was doing it. She then felt herself lean in, and kiss Spike, passionately. She realized it was the spell, but she didn't remember it saying anything about kissing, until she remembered the protectors will join and bond. She realized then what she was doing. She knew it was bad to enjoy kissing Spike, but she did, and she could always blame it on the spell later.  
  
Willow looked on as she chanted the spell. She saw the green energy flow from Dawn into the item they had chosen, a glass figurine. The figurine was small, easily hidden, and breakable, so they decided to make it the "Key". Willow also saw Buffy and Spike kissing. And they both looked like they were enjoying it. That was twice they had been brought together by a spell. She made a mental note to laugh later.  
  
Xander was looking wide-eyed as all of this was happening. Sure, he'd seen spells done before, but none like this. And he'd seen Buffy kiss Spike before, too, and it really got to him. Another vamp! It must be something about being the Slayer, he thought and continued watching. Anya sat with Tara, because Tara was brainwashed still, and needed someone to hold her. Xander was sure Anya would say something about Buffy and Spike kissing.  
  
A few minutes later the spell was over. As soon as it was, Buffy and Spike stopped kissing, abruptly and looked away from each other. Dawn was lying on the floor, unconscious. Buffy and Spike both ran to her side. Willow felt slightly woozy, and decided it best not to move. A minute later Dawn began to wake up. She hadn't seen Buffy and Spike kissing.  
  
"Did it work?" She asked. Everyone nodded. Tara pointed to Dawn and said, "No more green light!" Willow smiled fondly, and walked over to her and began to stroke her hair.  
  
"Guys, I hate to ruin the party, but I need to patrol. Willow, would you guys watch over Dawn?" Buffy said, and then walked out the door. Soon after her Spike followed.  
  
She kept walking even though she heard him follow. He was silent, and stayed a distance behind her until they reached the cemetery. Then he called out her name. She spun around.  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"I want to know what bloody happened back there."  
  
"Nothing happened." She said, and turned around and began walking. She dusted a newly risen vamp. He ran up behind her and grabbed her shoulder, turning her around. He kept his hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Yes, something did happen, Slayer." She punched him in the nose.  
  
"Don't touch me!" She hissed.  
  
"But we kissed, Buffy. You can't tell me that you didn't enjoy it," He said. His tone of voice was almost pleading.  
  
"It was a spell. It was only to help Dawn." She said harshly. They continued to argue, but they got nowhere. Spike continued to believe the kiss meant something, but Buffy objected full force.  
  
"FINE!!" He shouted, "Be the damned Queen of Denial! But someday you'll bloody have to face it."  
  
"Face what?" She spat out. "I don't feel anything for you except hate, and someday you'll have to face THAT!!" She turned and started walking, looking for something to kill.  
  
"Well fine!" He shouted back at her, even though he was hurt by her words, and he turned the other way and began walking. "Fine!" He heard her yell back.  
  
He then suddenly sensed a demon, a large one at that. He turned and ran back towards her. She was already in battle with it, and he joined in. It was big and red. It had sharp claws, and horns on its head. He had heard of them, and he knew how to kill them. It was a Kroninde, and the only way to kill it was to slice off its hands.  
  
"Slice off the hands, luv!" He yelled to her. "Never" punch. "Call" kick. "Me" slice "Your" dodge. "LUV!!" She said. As soon as she said it, the Kroninde took its remaining claw and slashed her stomach. Spike saw this and chopped off its remaining claw. The Kroninde roared, then melted, and finally turned into a powder like a vampire. Spike looked at Buffy. She had lost a lot of blood due to the gash, and she was semi-conscious. He picked her up and carried her to his crypt.  
  
He sat her down on the sarcophagus and examined her wounds. The cut on her stomach was deep, and it was obvious she had already lost a lot of blood. He looked back to see a trail of blood leading out of his crypt. She had lost more blood than he had thought, and was no longer conscious. He gently lifted her shirt just so he could see the cut. It went all the way across her stomach. He, being a vampire, most of the time would have no use for a first aid kit, but it was just luck he had gotten one the week earlier. He took out the antiseptic and a cloth and cleaned the wound and then raised her carefully to wrap the bandage around her waist.  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy, who in her unconscious state, was having a dream. Or at least she thought it was a dream. It was the only logical explanation. She was fighting a demon, she didn't know what kind, and Spike was with her. He was mostly standing back, letting her do the work, but still his presence was a comfort to her. Suddenly the demon had her pinned. "Spike!" She screamed out, but it was too late. The demon had already cut her with its claw, and she knew it was poisonous. She would be near death within the half-hour. Spike tore the demon into small pieces with his bare hands out of rage. "Spike," Buffy said weakly, "I love you, Spike." And then she drifted off into a sleep that she would never awake from.  
  
Spike had retrieved some food from his refrigerator and some water, for when she woke up. He had an ice pack resting on her forehead to keep a fever down. By this time it was already daylight so he figured she would need to stay with him the rest of the day because she was in no condition to go anywhere. She tossed and turned, and Spike kept a good eye on her, to make sure she was okay.  
  
"Spike!" she screamed. He jumped to her side and began stroking her hair. "S'ok, pet." He told her, and then he heard her mumble 'no, please no' and a few other incoherent words, though she was still unconscious. He kissed her forehead, and this seemed to soothe her for a minute, but then he heard her say softly, "I love you, Spike." He was shocked to hear her say those words, willingly. Unconsciously but willingly, and that was an improvement of some sort.  
  
  
  
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT TIME ON CONTRADICTION: Buffy wakes up, and she and Spike talk about her dream, and their lives. 


	2. Unconscious Admission

Summary: When Buffy finds out Dawn is the key, the Scoobies find a spell that can transfer the energy into another thing, and then they can destroy the key, but as you know in Buffy-land, nothing ever goes as planned. B/S  
  
Disclaimer: The stars whisper to me, children. They say to write a story, and the PTB tells me to give the children of the world a message, 'The Powers That Be own everything, and that I will be punished if I say that any of this belongs to the stars or the moon.'  
  
Reviews: Thanks you lots for the reviews that I got. I am SO sorry about the mushy paragraphs. I promise I didn't type it that way. I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO READ THE NEVERENDING PARAGRAPHS AND I MYSELF HATE IT!! I hope this chapter appears formatted better. Keep reviewing!!  
  
CHAPTER 2: UNCONSCIOUS AMDISSION  
  
She was just lying there, wounded. Still unconscious from the injuries of the night before, she lay on the sarcophagus in his crypt. He kept going over and over in his head what she had said. It wasn't a surprise to him the he wasn't able to sleep a wink.  
  
*'I love you, Spike.'* She had said. She had said the words he himself had told her recently. But every time those sweet words played in his ears and his heart, but his head said in just a whisper:  
  
*'You're beneath me.'* Those words had struck him like a slap in the face, and his heart sunk even lower.  
  
*'I love you, Spike.'* *'You're beneath me.'* *'I love you, Spike.'* *'You're beneath me.'*  
  
This continued for quite some time when finally Spike screamed out, "Bloody hell!"  
  
He did not realize what he had done until Buffy started stirring and groaning.  
  
"Spike? 'Sat you?" She asked him; she was only semi-conscious.  
  
"Buffy! I'm sorry, pet; I didn't mean to wake you." He said nervously, wondering how he was going to explain why he had yelled out, but thankfully she didn't ask.  
  
"What happened?" She asked instead. She was then fully conscious and tried to sit up. "OW!!" She screamed. The gash on her stomach wasn't fully healed yet.  
  
"You got sliced by a Kroninde demon," He stated, "Bloody nasty bugger!" He said.  
  
"I can certainly feel the cut." She stated as she winced.  
  
"I tried to bandage it up, but't needs to be changed." Spike said as he stood up to go get some more cloth to bandage up the wound.  
  
"What time is it?" Buffy questioned. She had found a way to prop herself up, but it still hurt like heck.  
  
"'S about 11:30, pet." He said, then getting some tape from the first aid kit that he had used to clean the wounds earlier.  
  
She took this in and said, "Oh, no! Dawn! Who watched over her last night? I slept that long? The gang is probably worried, you know because Slayer who doesn't come home equals everybody thinks Slayer is dead. and I am babbling." She said in such a fast pace that he could hardly keep up with what she was saying.  
  
"Luv, everything and everybody's fine, I'm sure. I think they can survive 4 or 5 bloody hours without you." He said with a simple smile.  
  
"I guess you're right," She said pensively, with a thinking look on her face.  
  
"I'm always right, pet." Spike said with a smirk, and Buffy snorted, and then started laughing.  
  
"Lift up your shirt, luv." Spike said intending to change the bandage on Buffy's stomach.  
  
"WHAT?" She screamed, not realizing his intentions. He held up the cloth and tape.  
  
"Oh," She said sheepishly, "I knew that." And she did as he asked.  
  
He gently undid the tape that was holding the bloodied cloth to her skin and removed the cloth as she looked down at the wound. It had almost fully healed, but the scab didn't look good. Spike placed the new gauze on the gash and taped it tight.  
  
"You should probably stay here 'till sunset, b'cause you're still hurt." He said, looking for another excuse to get her to stay, but he was shocked for the second time when she just agreed with him.  
  
"Thanks." She said lying back down to go to sleep again. She grabbed the blanket that Spike had gotten for her during the night and cuddled in it.  
  
*************************************************************** Later, when it was about ten minutes until sunrise, Buffy woke again. For some reason, she remembered her dream. She remembered the demon, and she remembered Spike. She remembered the look on his face- the shock, the fear, the love- and she silently started crying.  
  
Her small tears turned into weeps, and then they grew to sobs, and finally she was crying loudly. Spike had gone to the upper level of his crypt to get some blood for himself, and food for her. Her cries were so loud that he ran back down to her as soon as he heard them.  
  
He had already drunk the blood, so he set the food down on a place on the stone and sat down by her.  
  
"Wha's wrong, luv?" He wrapped his arms around her. She was rocking back and forth, shaking and sobbing. She kept murmuring something. He thought it sounded like 'I'm so sorry.' But he didn't have a clue about what she would be sorry about, so he asked.  
  
"Did you have a nightmare, pet?" He spoke gently and coolly. As he was holding her, he felt her nod into his shoulder.  
  
"Do you w'nt to tell me 'bout it?" He said softly, wanting to hear about her dream from earlier. He felt her nod again.  
  
She lifted her head out of the nest she had made in the crook of his shoulder.  
  
"I was fighting a demon, and you were there with me," She started, "It stabbed me, and it hurt so much. Not the stab, but knowing that I wouldn't get to say goodbye to anybody ever again. And, you, you were horrified. There was nothing you could do, and your eyes." She said. She was interrupted frequently by the sobs that erupted from her.  
  
"Go ahead, pet. I'm here." He said, and she was immediately comforted.  
  
"You really do love me, don't you?" She said, looking up at him questioningly.  
  
"You're just now figuring th't out, luv?" He said with a smirk.  
  
"I saw it in your eyes, in the dream." She said softly, the softest she had ever been to him.  
  
"D' you see it 'n my eyes now, pet?" He spoke sweetly, and caring, and hopeful. His ocean blue eyes gazed into her green eyes, and after they had focused on each other for a moment, they leaned in, and pressed their lips together, just briefly, for a chaste kiss, but enough to leave both of them wanting more.  
  
"I see it, and I feel it, and I know you love me," She whispered, "And it scares me to death," She said with a deathly seriousness that would have scared you if you saw it.  
  
"B't you don't love me back?" Spike finished for her.  
  
"No. I don't love you, but, I kind of like you, and I might be able to love you, someday," She said sincerely.  
  
His eyes lit up like a kid that was in a candy store for the first time. She liked him, and someday she might be able to love him.  
  
"But right now, I need a friend- a partner, someone to help with this big mess that is my life, okay?" The words were not a rejection, no, far from it. It was the beginning of something good. Spike nodded, knowing that they still had a world of trouble ahead of them, but still, she would love him, someday soon. 


	3. Truth or Dare

Summary: When Buffy finds out Dawn is the key, the Scoobies find a spell that can transfer the energy into another thing, and then they can destroy the key, but as you know in Buffy-land, nothing ever goes as planned. B/S  
  
Disclaimer: The stars whisper to me, children. They say to write a story, and the PTB tells me to give the children of the world a message, 'The Powers That Be own everything, and that I will be punished if I say that any of this belongs to the stars or the moon.'  
  
Reviews: Thanks again for all of the reviews. I hope I have finally got the humungous paragraph problem fixed. In a review, someone told me my plot line was going to fast. I figured the first chapters needed to be speedy because pretty soon it will get kind of slow, but this chapter will be entirely Scoobies, and Spike, and Buffy. I have everything kind of planned out, but not written, so any suggestions you have, tell them to me in a review or an email!!! I will consider them.  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 3 THE TALK  
  
Buffy left a few minutes later, claiming that the others would be worried about her, and although Spike was disappointed, she had left a tiny fragment of hope with him. That was enough for him- for now.  
  
Buffy was correct when she assumed that everyone would be worried about her. She simply told them that she had gotten wounded and Spike had helped her out. They all accepted this answer without question, although they were still worried about her. And the truth was that they had right to.  
  
Spike had once told her that every Slayer has a death wish, even her. He didn't know how right he was. She just wanted the whole thing to be over. Without her mom she couldn't handle it. Her friends helped as much as they could, but mostly she just needed someone to understand and that was the only thing they couldn't provide. Nobody knew what it was like to have their mom die, except Tara, but none of them knew what it was like to have to be the Slayer, save the world once a week, raise a teenage sister, and still manage to pay the bills.  
  
Giles had called a Scooby meeting, for reasons unknown to Buffy. The meeting was supposed to be at sunset, so Spike could attend. Since the spell, the Scoobies had vowed to themselves to treat Spike nicer, even though it was only because Dawn threatened them saying she would make Spike tell her about all of the evil things that he did. They didn't know that he already had, so they said they would treat him better.  
  
So they were all there, except Dawn, who was at Janice's house, gathered together in the Magick Box, not knowing what was going on. It must've been important, they thought, though, because Giles wouldn't have called a meeting for nothing. As soon as they were all there Giles told them why he had called them there.  
  
"So, Giles, explain why we are here, please. Xander and I could be at home and he could be giving me lots of-" Anya spoke. She was cut off by Xander who clamped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Ahn, do you remember what I said about not saying some things in front of people? That applies now." Xander said, his voice slightly annoyed.  
  
"I have decided that we need a night off. Buffy- you will not be patrolling tonight; Xander, Anya, Willow, Tara- you will not be researching, and Spike- you will not be doing whatever you do at night." Giles told them in response to Anya's. question.  
  
"So, what fun are we in for?" Willow said, curious of what Giles had planned.  
  
"We shall go to the Bronze for an evening of teenage-like fun, and I will pay for drinks." Giles answered.  
  
Everyone was glad that they could go out, and Spike was especially happy, because this was the first time the Scoobies had invited him to do anything with them.  
  
They arrived at the Bronze and gotten a booth in the far corner that seated all of them. Giles ordered the first round of drinks for all of them- tequila. Spike noticed when everyone took their first shot that they made sour faces, Xander especially.  
  
"You wankers think this strong liquor?" Spike asked incredulously.  
  
"Says the drunk of the century." Xander replied sarcastically.  
  
"Hey, Xander, do you remember when we were little and we played that game? Truth or Dare?" Willow said with a sly smile. He just groaned to signify that he remembered. Spike, who was still keen on annoying Xander in any and every way possible, said happily,  
  
"Oh! I've heard Nibblet talking about that game! She says it is mighty fun! Let's play!" Everyone but Xander agreed that it would be fun to play such a childish game again, so they started to play. Willow said to Xander that he could go first because he hated the game.  
  
"Okay. Deadboy Jr., truth or dare?" Xander asked Spike. Spike thought a moment.  
  
"Truth." He said confidently.  
  
"Why were you called William the Bloody?" Xander asked, not really knowing if he wanted to know the answer, because Spike had tortured thousands of people, and that nickname.  
  
"Of all the bloody awful questions you could have asked, Whelp, this has to be the worst. I was called William the Bloody because." The last few words were mumbled in humiliation, so Xander and the rest of the Scoobies couldn't understand them.  
  
"What?" Xander asked him.  
  
"I was a bloody awful poet. Wrote for a girl named Cecily Addams. Fist girl I ever loved and the reason I got turned." Spike spoke quietly, still, with his head hung down.  
  
Suddenly Xander burst out laughing. "A poet?" He laughed until Anya whispered in his ear, "If you keep laughing I will never sleep with you again." And then just as suddenly as he started laughing he stopped, sat up straight, and mumbled 'Sorry' to Spike.  
  
  
  
"Tell you what, bloke, you buy the next round of drinks, and all's forgotten." Spike said, and Xander motioned to the waiter to bring them all another round.  
  
"Buffy, truth or dare?" Spike said with a smirk.  
  
"Dare, I guess." She said. She noticed that Spike had one of those smirks that made her so angry, and his eyebrow was raised thoughtfully.  
  
"I dare you to. make out with me for three minutes." He said smugly. She was sitting right beside him. Her face turned red, and she almost got a little angry, but then she looked at Xander, Willow, Giles, Anya, and Tara, and even though they were a little shocked, but not disappointed that she had a smile growing on her face.  
  
Xander looked at his watch when they started kissing, because as soon as the three minutes were up, he had full intentions on stopping them.  
  
At first their lips touched, and fit together like two puzzle pieces that were supposed to be joined. The kiss started off gentle, and chaste, and sweet, but then slowly changed into passionate, and needy, and their lips were clinging to each other with sheer desperation. Her lips parted, allowing their tongues to meet and deepen the kiss even more. She moaned into his mouth, telling him that she needed air, and they stopped for a split second so she could breathe, but then they both fell back into the embrace.  
  
The Scoobies were all shocked to say the least. Buffy and Spike fit together so perfectly it seemed, and even Xander was thinking that they might belong together. It looked as if they had kissed often, so often that they were in perfect unison. But they hadn't practiced. They just fit, and everyone saw that now, but they sure weren't going to say anything about it.  
  
Finally, after a long while past three minutes, Anya interrupted them, telling them to get a room or something. Everyone had just laughed. They continued playing the game until they were really drunk, and then they all decided that they better get home, and they headed off their separate ways. 


	4. The Truth Will Set You Free

Summary: When Buffy finds out Dawn is the key, the Scoobies find a spell that can transfer the energy into another thing, and then they can destroy the key, but as you know in Buffy-land, nothing ever goes as planned. B/S  
  
Disclaimer: The stars whisper to me, children. They say to write a story, and the PTB tells me to give the children of the world a message, 'The Powers That Be own everything, and that I will be punished if I say that any of this belongs to the stars or the moon.'  
  
Reviews: Please!  
  
Notes: I know that the last chapter was mostly Scoobies with some Spuffy, but I kind of liked writing the Scoobies in a slow motion type deal. I am sorry I didn't post this sooner, but I was in a Talent Show, and I got first place!!! But this may be a long chapter, so I will probably make up for the lateness.   
  
CHAPTER 4 The Truth Will Set You Free  
The night before forgotten, Willow went to Buffy's for breakfast the morning after. Buffy had tried to make pancakes from a box, but she had failed, so Willow had made them instead. Dawn was not there; she was still at Janice's house, but it was Saturday, so it didn't matter anyways.  
  
Even though Buffy had tried to forget the evening before, her thoughts and dreams were filled with the memory of it. His cool lips on hers, his hands rubbing her back, sending shivers down her spine- No. She shouldn't think of him- she couldn't. It was very bad that they kissed, but they were drunk and they didn't know what they were doing. She really tried to convince herself of it, but it was impossible not to think about him, and how right it felt. Her mind was in contradiction.  
  
She had told Spike not two nights ago that she liked him, and someday might even love him, but still, she wouldn't say a word to her friends. Why? She asked herself, why couldn't she tell them? Willow would be supportive, and Giles would be skeptical, but they wouldn't be disappointed. Dawn would be happy- she loved Spike. Anya wouldn't care, except for asking if Buffy and Spike had beaten her and Xander's record. Buffy blushed at the thought. Xander, he was the one she was worried about. She remembered how he was with Angel- he would be disappointed and disgusted.  
  
But why did his happiness come above hers? He fell for two- or was it three- demons himself, so he was no one to judge her. Oh, well. She thought. She could think about it later. Right then she had the biggest headache she had ever had, aside from the time after she went all Cave- Buffy. She decided to go back up to her room and sleep some more, and Willow soon left to go back to her dorm room.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Dawn left Janice's at about 11:00. It wasn't like she was defenseless, and plus, it was daytime. She was going over to the Magic Box to talk to Anya about a spell she was going to try. She was going to try to prove to Buffy that Spike really loved her. He didn't ask her to, and he and Buffy both would probably be really pissed off at her for messing with magic, but. she wanted her sister to realize Spike did love them.  
  
So, she was going to try a truth spell, but not an ordinary one, of course. It wasn't like she could tie them up and sprinkle truth dust on them. No, she was going to see if she could work out something much simpler. She would take a map; somehow get Buffy and Spike together in same place, sprinkle truth dust, or whatever it was called, over the area, and Poof! They couldn't lie. It was really brilliant.  
  
She stepped into the Magic Box and was greeted by Anya who was counting money at the checkout counter. "Hello! Welcome to the Magi- oh, it's just you." She said upon realizing it was just Dawn and went back to counting her money.  
  
"Hey!" Dawn said, "Just me? I didn't come here for your company. I want to buy something." She said almost defensively.  
  
"Well in that case. Welcome to the Magic Box, home to all of your mystical and magical needs!" She said smiling energetically while Dawn rolled her eyes.  
  
"I want to look at some stuff for truth spells, and I need a book with the incantation in it." Dawn spoke, knowing that truth dust was not cheap and Anya would be more than happy to help.  
  
She was right, too. Anya gleefully led her to the dust and told her the prices. Dawn figured that she had best get a large box of the dust, just in case. As Anya checked her out, she realized that she needed to get a new map of Sunnydale. Dawn walked out the door and the little bell jingled. She would have to do the spell soon, because she was already anxious enough to kill.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Buffy woke up from her deep rest just in time for supper. She could hear the music blasting in the room next door and se knew Dawn was home. She walked downstairs and went to the kitchen and looked into the freezer. They didn't have anything much, or at least nothing to cook.  
  
She walked back up the stairs and pounded on Dawn's door, and then slowly opened it. "Dawnie?" she asked. She was surprised to see Dawn intently reading a very old looking book.  
  
"Dawn?" She repeated louder. This caused Dawn to snap the book shut immediately.  
  
"Hey! Ever hear of knocking?!" She yelled in a screechy voice.  
  
"I did. What do you want on your pizza?" Buffy asked in an annoyed voice. Dawn answered her quickly, and Buffy went back downstairs, wondering, but without intention of asking, what Dawn was up to.  
  
Meanwhile, Dawn was reading on the book she purchased in the Magic Box. The incantation was really easy, even though it was Latin. She remembered Spike once saying, "J sounds like W and pronounce each vowel separately." That was the crash course in Latin. So simple, she knew she could do it. She would just have to wait until Buffy and Spike were alone to perform the spell, and she knew just the perfect time.  
  
*************************************************************  
  
Right when the sun set that evening Buffy headed out to meet Spike for patrol. It had become a part of a routine that she was starting to enjoy. She loved fighting with Spike- against and alongside him. She didn't have to hold back or worry that he would get hurt, because she knew that they were equals, and anything she dished out, he expected it and could throw it back at her just as hard.  
  
He obviously wasn't like Angel, because Angel was too afraid to hurt her. And he wasn't like Riley, because with him she had to pretend to be weak because Riley wasn't as strong as she was. She suddenly realized that she was already at his crypt. She thought that just that one time she should be polite and knock, but was surprised when he opened the door before she could knock on the door.  
  
"Vampire, luv," he said, almost like he could read her mind, "I can feel when you're there,"  
  
"I knew that." Buffy said sheepishly.  
  
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Dawn was in her room, alone. She laid out the map of Sunnydale that she had bought from a convenience store near the Magic Box. She made a circle around the map with small candles that she had already lit. She whispered some words in Latin, and took the jar of truth dust in her hand. She kneeled down, just outside the circle and takes a pinch of the dust between her thumb and forefinger, and sets the jar of dust down inside the circle.  
  
She sprinkles the dust over the area which is Spike's cemetery, where they'd most likely be. She saw the mp light up, just a little bit, and then the glow faded away. She figured that the spell worked. She started to put away the stuff, and she tipped over the entire jar of truth dust.  
  
"Shit!" she said. She quickly lifted the jar back up. The entire map started to glow, and at that moment she knew., "The whole town of Sunnydale is under a truth spell!" she whispered.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike were out on patrol. A newly risen fledgling attacked them.  
  
"Wow! You're the Slayer? And you- William the Bloody! Oh my gosh. It is such an honor to meet you both." The vampire said while trying to shake their hands. He was easily staked, but still it shocked Buffy and Spike when there were several more encounters like that.  
  
"Hey, Spike?" Buffy said.  
  
"Yeah, luv?" He replied.  
  
"I think you're hot." She stated plainly, as if she had just announced that her favorite color was blue. Spike smirked.  
  
"I think you're hot too, pet." He said; a small smile was showing on his face.  
  
"I really want to kiss you right now." Buffy said, taking two steps closer to him. They were then eye to eye, nose to nose, and almost mouth to mouth.  
  
"Mm-hmm," was all Spike could manage before they met. Mouths were crashing against one another, holding on tighter, and both trying to be closer to one another. Buffy pulled him closer, as close as she could, and wrapped her arms around him. Spike wrapped his arms around her too. Then their lips parted slightly, and their tongues touched, causing a wave of electricity to be sent through them. Then after a long time which seemed to them like a second, they needed to breathe- Buffy did, but Spike did out of habit, too.  
  
"Wow." Buffy breathed.  
  
"You're so bloody beautiful, pet." Spike spoke. "God, I love you."  
  
Buffy smiled, and Spike smiled back at her, and then they did something that they had never done before. Buffy took her arms and put them over his shoulders, and he took his arms and put them around her waist, and they hugged. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. He loved it when she sighed like that.  
  
He could feel her heartbeat racing at least three times faster than it should have been, and he was sure that if he had a heartbeat, his would be faster than that. He could feel the happiness flowing off her in waves of radiance. Suddenly, though, she jerked away from him and pulled a stake. She swiftly turned around and dusted a vamp that he hadn't even noticed sneaking up behind them.  
  
"I didn't even notice that it was behind you." Spike said sheepishly.  
  
"Well, we're in a cemetery, what do you expect?" She said with an almost careless smile. She stepped back into his embrace and resumed the position they were in before the vamp attack.  
  
"Hey," She said quietly, not moving a muscle, "do you want to go back to the house and watch a movie or something? I really don't want you to go out of my sight."  
  
"What movie, luv?" He answered and a happy smile came upon her face.  
  
They walked hand in hand down through the cemetery and then on the sidewalks to Revello Drive, occasionally stopping to slay a newly risen vampire that dared cross the Master Vampire and Slayer. Overall, they reached the house pretty quickly, but they stopped along the way to kiss a lot. When they reached Buffy's house, she invited him in.  
  
"Would you watch Gone With the Wind with me?" Buffy asked him from the living room. Spike had gone into the kitchen to make a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows.  
  
"Sure, pet." He called back to her. She went upstairs and took a quilt and some pillows from her bed. She passed by Dawn's room and looked in. Dawn was sleeping peacefully, and had cleaned up the dust from the spell. When she came back downstairs she was greeted by Spike who was sitting on the couch holding two mugs of hot chocolate.  
  
They sat down and arranged themselves comfortably on the couch. Buffy and Spike were cuddling. They stayed like that for the better part of the movie. At the end of the movie, Spike noticed that Buffy was crying.  
  
"What's the matter, luv?" He asked her, and she started crying even louder.  
  
"Scarlett- s-she was s-so awf-awful to him, and he st-still loved h- her." She said with a look of recognition on her face, like she had gone through that herself.  
  
"W-why do you still love me?" She asked, managing to keep her sobs controlled.  
  
"Because it's impossible to not love you. You're brave, you have this fire about you, you are full of light, you're willing to die to protect the world, you love your friends and your sis, you're strong, but sometimes you need to be protected, you are beautiful, you just- have this something that makes you impossible to hate, you have patience- hell, 'f you can put up wit' the Whelp. but most of all- you make me want to be better, be worthy." He said as he hugged her and stroked her hair. By then her sobs had quieted fully.  
  
"I love you, too." She whispered, just loudly enough for him to hear. 


	5. As Free As a Caged Bird

CONTRADICTION: Chapter 5- The Aftermath  
  
Summary: The truth spell has been cast; Buffy has told Spike she loves him. What else could possibly happen??  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except the plot, and I really don't own it because it ain't like I bought it or nothing. So if you want to sue me, go ahead and try, but it'll probably only make you look selfish, and childish, and idiot-like, and that isn't a good image.  
  
Authors Notes: Sorry this was WAY late, but I'd be just tickled pink if you reviewed. I want to thank Roxxanne M., whose review made me decide to write this chapter. I didn't get many-excuse me, any- reviews for chapter 4, so I just assumed that everybody had stopped reading the story. This is probably going to be the last chapter, but still review. ( Thanks!! _________________________________________________________________  
  
"I love you, Spike." Buffy said again, making sure he had heard her. She could she the shock, the excitement, and the pensiveness expressed on his face. He didn't move a muscle, for the most part because he didn't really know what to do. Buffy loves me, he thought over and over.  
  
After he had thought it enough so that it sunk in, he just leaned over and kissed her. He wrapped his strong arms around her, his hands rested on the small of her back. The kiss was sweet at first, chaste and soft. It was a new thing for them, because they hadn't loved each other before. Buffy, once she could maintain a coherent thought, wondered why she hadn't told him before, because it really made the already wonderful kisses of Spike one-hundred times better. They pulled away from the kiss to breathe, surprised that such a simple kiss could take their breaths away.  
  
Oh! Spike lips! Lips of Spike!  
  
Buffy sighed contentedly and wrapped her arms around his neck, then rested her head in the crook of his shoulder. She breathed, and took in the scent that was Spike- leather, bourbon, smoke, and another scent, that she couldn't quite place- she just knew that is was him. She loved his scent. They held each other like that for a long time, but to them it seemed like merely seconds.  
  
Finally they came out of their embrace. Even though Spike didn't want to ruin the perfect moment- the moment that he had been dreaming about for a long time, they needed to talk. It was only a couple of days ago that she had said that she didn't love him, and he hadn't done anything drastic to make her love him, and he wanted to know why she was all of a sudden telling him she loved him. Not that he was complaining, you know, because he loved that she finally told him the three words that he had been dying to hear. He would never complain about that. Was she sure? Because if she wasn't he was liable to stake himself. But that would mean that he wouldn't get to be with her anymore, so that was definitely out of the picture. To be honest, he knew he would just do the same thing he had been doing- helping with patrol, talking to the Nibblet, listening to Buffy and fighting with her. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he could never leave her, and he could never stop loving-  
  
"Are you brooding?" Buffy asked him, interrupting his thoughts.  
  
"Bloody hell! I'm not the Poofter, and besides, I don't brood." He said. The last part almost sounded like a whine and pouted. Buffy started to giggle. He was just so cute when he whined. She reached her hand up and ruffled his hair. He hadn't gelled it in a day, so it was in messy curls on his head. She heard a faint growl coming from him, and she felt the vibration run through his chest, and it made her giggle even more.  
  
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Xander had never been one for patience, in fact, he didn't have much of it at all. So when Buffy was late for a Scooby meeting he wondered what was going on.  
  
Had she gotten hurt during patrol tonight?  
  
Giles and Anya were doing inventory and Willow was reading a book in the Magic Box when Xander finally gave in to his impatience.  
  
"Where could she be?" He said.  
  
"She's probably just sleeping, Xander. She probably had a hard night of slayage." Willow said cheerfully.  
  
"How can you be so cheerful at this time of night? It is really annoying. Stop please." Anya said in an almost monotone voice.  
  
"Well, I'm going to Buffy's to see if she's okay." Xander said, and then walked out the door to the Magic Box, and the bell gave a happy jingle.  
  
He walked for a few minutes until he reached her house. A long time ago, Buffy had shown him where she kept her spare key and told him to use it if there was an emergency. Xander figured that this was emergency enough, and unlocked the door to the house.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
"Spike!" Buffy said between giggles, "Stop it!"  
  
"Nuh uh, luv. Not unless you take that back!" Spike said as he tickled her mercilessly.  
  
"You are the Big Bad, honey," she started, and he paused from tickling her, "You are the Big Bad Tickle Monster!" She shrieked before running into the kitchen. He ran after her immediately, and she screamed, forgetting the sleeping Dawn upstairs.  
  
Spike finally caught up with her while she was running and spun her around to face him. She looked amazing, in a t-shirt and jeans, her hair all sweaty, her face hot and flushed. He put his arms around her neck and pulled her into a kiss. Their tongues were tangled together, and his hands were then in her hair soon, but he pulled back. He dropped his hands to her shoulders and held her away from him.  
  
"Take it back!" He whispered.  
  
"You're still bad, honey, just in a cuddly, sweet way." She said smiling. He growled, but then pulled her close to him, and kissed her forcefully. They didn't even notice when the kitchen door opened.  
  
"What the hell is going on here?" Xander yelled.  
  
***************************************************************  
  
Meanwhile, due to Buffy's screaming- she didn't want to know why- Dawn had woken up, and climbed out of her window. She was going to see Willow about a reversal spell. She carried one of Buffy's stakes and walked down the streets of Sunnydale. She got to the Magic Shop with a fair ease, and had only seen one vamp, a fledgling, and dusted it.  
  
She walked into the store, and everyone looked surprised to see her.  
  
"Hey, Dawnie. Where's Buffy?" Willow asked her.  
  
"Oh, she's at home, but I sort of need to talk to you." Dawn said nervously, putting her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.  
  
"Sure," Willow said curiously. "What about?"  
  
"Actually, it's kind of private. Do you mind if we go back to the training room?" Dawn said, as she noticed Tara, Giles, and Anya looking at her. Willow nodded her agreement, and they both walked into the back room.  
  
"What's up, Dawnie?" Willow asked once more.  
  
"Well, I did this spell, and I think, no, I know I did some thing wrong, and I don't know how to reverse it." She said in one breath, and looked away from Willow's scornful gaze.  
  
"Now Dawnie, I'm not going to tell you how you shouldn't have been doing spells, but luckily this one should be pretty easy to reverse, unless it wears off in a certain amount of time. I'll just go and check in one of my books." She said and walked out of the training room. Dawn followed after her.  
  
Willow pulled a dusty book out of one of the shelves and started flipping through the pages. She then walked back into the training room and again Dawn followed. She flipped through the book some more, and then exclaimed, "I found it!"  
  
"Okay how do I reverse it?" Dawn asked immediately in reply.  
  
"It says here that the spell will wear off on its own after about five hours. When did you cast the spell?" Willow asked.  
  
Dawn looked at her watch, "About four hours and forty-five minutes ago. That's good right? Only about fifteen minutes until the spell wears off, so bye!" And then she walked out of the training room and the Magic Box without saying another word. She ran all the way back home and hurried into her window with only five minutes of the truth spell left.  
  
*****************************************************************  
  
"I'm kissing the man I love." Buffy responded. She turned around to look at Xander and grabbed Spike's arms and wrapped them around her. He kissed her on the ear and whispered to her that he loved her, so quietly that only she could hear.  
  
"What? Love? You despise Spike, not love him!" Xander said, furiously trying to figure out what was going on.  
  
"Xander, that was just a lie for you and Willow and Giles, but it's the truth. I love him." She smiled happily.  
  
Xander, seeing how he wasn't going to get any answers from Buffy, redirected conversation towards Spike.  
  
"What have you done to her? Is this some evil plan of yours? Have you put her under a spell? Or is this one of those creepy thrall things that Dracula does? " He said, trying desperately to get some answers.  
  
"Bloody hell, 'Harris, I thought you were smarter than that. I'm not the best person to try to make plans. Besides, I love her, and se loves me, so deal with it." Spike said with a scowl. Buffy stepped back to look at him. She looked at his face and giggled.  
  
"What's so funny, luv?" He asked her.  
  
"You're cute when you make that face." She said, then heard him give a little growl, and giggled some more. He pulled her up against him so that they were nose to nose. She instantly quieted, and he spoke quietly, though Xander could hear.  
  
"I am not cute. I am bad. Evil. Grr." He was finding it hard to keep from laughing himself, but found himself surprised when she only smiled slightly.  
  
"You're right, honey. Cute is an understatement. You're the most gorgeous, sexy, attractive, hunky, wonderful, sweet, caring, loving, kind, thoughtful, considerate vampire ever, and not to mention the best kisser." Buffy said with a soft smirk that mirrored his.  
  
"I love you, pet." He said, and she pulled him an inch closer to her and kissed him. It was a soft kiss at first, gentle and mild, like a first kiss. She put her arms around his neck, and his hands ran up and down her back. Then, the kiss deepened. He ran his tongue slowly along her bottom lip and she whimpered, giving him entrance to her mouth. The coolness of him was like a shock to her. She heard a soft moan, but she didn't know if it was him or her making the sounds. She took her hands from his neck and touched his hair, and his hands continued the soothing pattern on her back. This was perfec-  
  
They were interrupted by the sounds of the Xander opening the kitchen door. They could hear retching outside, and both of them were sure that he was throwing up. Buffy grabbed some paper towels and wet them with cold water, and told Spike to get a soda out of the refrigerator.  
  
She walked outside and handed Xander the paper towels and Spike held the soda.  
  
"Are you okay?" Buffy asked him.  
  
"I think it's safe to say that I never need to see you guys kissing again." He said trying to lighten the mood.  
Then suddenly a feeling went through the air. The truth spell was over, unbeknownst to them.  
  
"Spike, I think you'd better go. We'll talk later." Buffy said distantly. He gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head.  
  
"Ok, pet. I love you." He said and then turned to walk out the door, but before he had left, he heard a quiet whisper that said, "I love you, too." He only heard this because of his vampiric hearing, and smiled. The smile was more of a William smile than a Spike smile. He was really turning into a Poofter.  
  
"Okay, Buff. I'm gonna ask again, what the hell was going on in here?" Xander asked once Spike was gone.  
  
"I think that was pretty obvious," muttered Buffy sarcastically.  
  
"Yeah, I walk into your house and see you kissing the evil un-dead, and then you say that you love him. You're acting a lot like the Buffy- bot."  
  
"Xander, it's me- the real Buffy, and despite what you think, I do love him, and if you don't like it, just get the hell out of my house!" Buffy said, hinting anger at first, and roaring the end. Xander turned and silently walked out of the door. *****************************************************************  
  
A/N: So, what did you think?? Review please.. 


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